2025 NFL Draft Prospect Interview: Kendel Givens, RB, Ouachita Baptist University

• Name: Kendel Givens
• Position: RB
• College: Ouachita Baptist University 
• Height: 5’8
• Weight: 213
• Twitter: @__kendelgivens
• Instagram: @ken.giv

What makes you a top prospect at your position in the 2025 NFL Draft? 

I’m an every-down, do-it-all type of back. I can run, catch, block, pass protect, I have good feet, I’m good in the play-action game, and I’m a really big film guy. 

What is one thing that NFL teams should know about you? 

One thing NFL teams should know about me is that I’m a worker. As cliche as that sounds, that’s been the story of my life. I can’t promise anyone Super Bowls or anything like that, but what I can promise is that I’ll work and make the locker room better. That’s all I know. 

If you could donate to one cause in the world, what would it be?

I would help kids who grew up like me in the inner city. So many kids need positive influences in their lives and it’s been my dream to impact many communities this way. 

Who was your role model? 

My mother Juana was my role model growing up. She would constantly work 2-3 jobs just so she could provide for me and my older brother. She taught me what it meant to work hard. 

Who is your favorite NFL team?

Philadelphia Eagles 

Who is the most underrated teammate at your school? 

Connor Flannigan 

What is your biggest pet peeve? 

My biggest pet peeve is whenever people are 

Who is your favorite teacher ever?

I honestly don’t have a favorite teacher ever. Growing up, it truly did take a village, so it’s hard to name just one teacher because all of them played an instrumental part in my life. 

Overcoming adversity is what defines character, what was the hardest moment in your life to overcome? 

The hardest thing I had to overcome was losing my best friend a week after I turned 18. He was shot and killed on June 5, 2020. This was hard because he was like a brother to me and a son to my mom. Blood couldn’t have made us any closer. 

If you could have any franchise restaurant in your house what would it be?

Since eating healthy and clean can be expensive sometimes, I would have a healthy franchise restaurant in my house. I would benefit would from that. 

What is your favorite snack food? 

Watermelon 

What is your degree in?

Communications (sports media)

If you could have dinner with three people dead or alive, who would it be and why? 

1. Jesus: Jesus loved how we should love, and he was tough; both mentally and physically. He never took anything for granted and he put people before himself. Dying on a cross for the world, so we could live is something I’ll never be able to pay back. 
2. Tom Brady: I would want to know the true level of his mental toughness. His story is amazing and he is the epitome of longevity in professional sports. 
3. Martin Luther King Jr.: His boldness spoke volumes and still does. He was a fighter and had a big heart. He wanted to change the world and he did just that, and he loved all people. I think that is remarkable!

What is your biggest weakness? 

My biggest weakness is worrying about the things I can’t control. I wear this proudly because it must come from a wholesome place.